A bitstream or bit stream is a time series of bits. In Statistics, Signal processing, and many other fields a time series is a sequence of Data points measured typically at successive times spaced at (often A bit is a binary digit, taking a value of either 0 or 1 Binary digits are a basic unit of Information storage and communication

A bytestream is a series of bytes, typically of 8 bits each, and can be regarded as a special case of a bitstream. In Computer science, a byte stream is a Bit stream, in which data Bits are grouped into units called Bytes In Computer networking A byte (pronounced "bite" baɪt is the basic unit of measurement of information storage in Computer science.

Bitstreams are used extensively in telecommunications and computing: for example, the SDH communications technology transports synchronous bitstreams, and the TCP communications protocol transports a bytestream without synchronous timing. Computing is usually defined like the activity of using and developing Computer technology Computer hardware and software. Synchronous optical networking (SONET and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH are two closely related Multiplexing protocols for transferring multiple The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite. In the field of Telecommunications, a communications protocol is the set of standard rules for data representation signaling authentication and error detection required to

When a bitstream is captured and stored on a computer storage media, a computer file is created. Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to Computer components devices and recording media that retain digital A computer file is a block of Arbitrary Information, or resource for storing information which is available to a Computer program and is usually

The term bitstream is frequently used to describe the configuration data to be loaded into a field programmable gate array (FPGA). FPGAs should not be confused with the Flip-chip pin grid array, a form of integrated circuit packaging This usage may have originated based on the common method of configuring the FPGA from a serial bit stream, typically from a serial PROM or flash memory chip, although most FPGAs also support a byte-parallel loading method as well. A programmable read-only memory ( PROM) or field programmable read-only memory ( FPROM) is a form of digital memory where the setting of each bit is Flash memory is non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed The detailed format of the bitstream for a particular FPGA chip is usually considered proprietary to the FPGA vendor.

See also

• MPEG Elementary stream
• Bit stream access